Machine for drawing threads from fabrics



May ZI, 1935. J. OLLENDORFF MACHINE FOR DRAWING THREADS FROM FABRICS Filed Feb. 16, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet l May 21, 1935. J. OLLENDORFF 2,002,414

MACHINE FOR DRAWING THREADS FROM FABRICS Filed Feb. 16, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 1935. J. OLLENDORFF 2,002,414

MACHINE FOR DRAWING THREADS FROM FABRICS FICIJI- May 21, 1935. J. OLLENDORFF I MACHINE FOR DRAWING THREADS FROM FABRICS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 16, 1932 Fla/.6

Patented May 21, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE France Application February 16, 1932,, Serial No. 593,349

In France" February 21, 1931 "7' Claims. (Cl. 112- 78) In machines for drawing the threads from fabrics, the feeding and the stretching of the fabric play an all important part-because, on' the one hand, it is necessary that the fabric should be 5 fed in a direction strictly parallel to that of the threads to be drawn, the feed motion being interrupted during the action of the thread drawing tool, and, on the other hand, the fabricshould be continuously maintained well stretched in or- 16 der that the thread drawing tool'may not meet with the threads parallel to" its plane and may draw, during its downward motion, only the threads thatshould be drawn.

Furthermore, the fabric must be kept stretched along a certain length after it has moved past the thread drawing tool, or, otherwise, the threads parallel to the plane of the thread drawing tool and located in the part of the fabric" in which the other threads have already been drawn might sag as low as the line of action of the knife which cuts off the drawn threads, and be also out off thereby.

.On the other hand, it is important that the stretching organ should not interfere. with the feed mechanism. a Y I It is also useful to be capable of accurately adjusting the feed according to each kind of fabric so as to allow the thread drawing tool to passexactly between the threads parallel to its plane.

z- In the known machines for drawing threads from fabrics, the feed of the fabric is obtained by means of two kinds of systems: i

(a) Systems comprising a driving band or grip and-a presser foot. In that case, the driving band or grip is generally located under the work plate, which leaves but small room under the table of the machine for the knife controlling mechanism and for the-movement of the cutter knife.- a

(b) Systems comprising rollers generally lo-= cated above the work plate and whichare given a uniform rotary motion, which causes the fabric to moveforward during the action of the thread drawing tool and of the cutter knife; The stretching of the fabric is then obtained either through stationary devices, that isdevices independent of the feed, and consequently interfering therewith, or through-a special arrangement of the driving rollers, which make acertainangle 50 with each other so as to stretch-the; fabric, so that, in the case of said rollers getting ever so slightly out of order, may result inthe fabric being fed obliquely and the thread drawing tool consequently operating under bad conditions. 55 Lastly, the feed of the fabric can-be giv n y the fabric to slide a limited number of predetermined values which depend upon the construction of the machine.

The object of the present invention is to obviate these various drawbacks through an'arrang'ement based upon the following principles and a 5.

practical embodiment of which will be hereinafter described, said principles being that:

The feed ofthe fabric is obtained through rollers disposed in strictly parallel relation withrespect to each other and which are given a discontinuous rotary motion, the amplitude or rate of which can be adjusted in a continuous manner, said rollers being partly engaged into the workplate, so asto maintain the fabric stationary before, during and after the action ofthe thread drawing tool. Said rollers have their periphery made of a material which doesnot allow thereon, for instance of india rubber.

The fabric is stretched by means of other rollers which are driven together with the feeding rollers, so as not to interferewith the feed. Said stretching rollers are smooth so as to allow the fabric to slide thereon.

The sectional outlinesv of the last mentioned rollers and of the work. platearei such as to progressively increase the total length of the sinuous line along which the fabric is stretched between the feed rollers, from the time at which the fabric is caught .by said feed rollers to the time at which .the' thread drawing tool has completed its work.

That increase in length progressively stretches the fabric up to a high tension.

All these organs can be combined in such manher as to be carried by a common main support which may be lifted like an ordinary presser foot.

Said feeding and stretching arrangement leaves the under face of the table of the machine entirely free, which make it possible to utilize without difficulty any cutter knife system, and in particular a knife adapted to rotate about a vertical axis (that is an axis at right angles to the fabric) without complicating it with a reciprocating vertical motion as described in the U. S. Patent No. 1,895,995 to G. Jalbert, January .31, 1933', for Improvements in machines for drawing the threads of a fabric. g

Preferred embodiments ,offthegi'nvention will be hereinafter describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings, given merely by way of example, and which:

I Fig-.- 1 is a front view of the part of the head of the machine which is located above the table, some parts being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is an end view partly in section of the same mechanism;

Fig. 2a is a sectional View on an enlarged scale on the line" 2a2a of Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 is a view analogous to Fig. 1, that is a front view, of the presser foot, which serves to bothfeed and stretch the fabric, the work plate and the table of the machine being cut on the:

line P P of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view analogous to Fig. 3, but seen from the back of the machine, the same parts, viz. the work plate and the table of the machine being supposed to be cut;

Fig. 5 is a corresponding side view;

Figs. 6 and 11 are an end view and a plan view, respectively, of the work plate with its counter blade and the stretching ridges;

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are sectional views taken in planes Or, Oy, and Op of Fig. 5 respectively, of

the fabric feeding and stretching devices and of the fabric itself.

Fig. 10 is a sectional View on the line Ill-l of Fig. 11.

' Figs. 12 and 13 are two diagrammatical views of the fabric during the operation of the machine, according as the fabric is well stretched or not, respectively.

- The main shaft I of the machine, which is driven by wheel 2, imparts to supporting bar of the thread drawing tool 6, and therefore tosaid thread drawing tool, a reciprocating vertical motion'through the intermediary-of crank plate 3 and of connecting rod 4 (Fig. 2).

The fabric feeding devices consist of wheels 23,23"which partly engage a cylindrical groove provided in plate 25 which serves to support the fabric.

The fabric stretching organs comprise:

On the one hand two ridges 26, 26 provided in the cylindrical'groove of plate 25 and the front ends of which are bevelled, as shown at b, b in Figures and 11.

On the other hand two wheels 24, 24' provided with circular grooves 29, 29 in register with ridges 2E, 26'.

Said wheels are keyed on the same shaft as feeding wheels 23, 23.

The thread cutting organs comprise: On the one hand a cutter knife 28 (Fig. 10), onv the other hand counter-blade 21, which corresponds in shape to the cylindrical part of plate 25, and against which the'cutter knife is applied in order to cut the threads.

' Ridges zfi, 26 are disposed on either side of counter blade 21, and as close to it as it is possible.

Feeding wheels 23, 23 and wheels 24,24 are rotated by main shaft i (as shown in Fig.2) through eccentric l keyed on said shaft and actuating through connecting rod 8 sector-shaped lever 9. Said lever 9 drives, through a clutch of the freewheel type, shaft l2, which therefore rotates through a certain angle for each turn of main shaft i. The rotation of shaft 12 is imparted to shaft i5 through helicoidal gears l3 and I l, and shaft l 5 transmits that movement to wheels '23 and 24 (see Figs. 4 and 5) through worm gears l6 and ill and pinions l8 and I8, rigidly carried The whole ofwheelsZS and 23, 24 and 24 and of pinions wand 19' is-mounted on a Spi d e and accordingly the angle through which rollem 23, 23' are rotated, can be varied at will. To this effect, sector-shaped lever 9 is provided with a groove in which is engaged the head of a stud 58 extending through a sleeve 58 and the end of which is screw threaded so as to receive a wing nut 66 by means of which it is fixed to lever 9 at a given point thereof. The end of rod 8 is pivoted about said 'sleeve' 59.

' The peripheries 38,38 of wheels 23, 23', respectively, are preferably made of india-rubber as shown in Figs. '7 to 9 inclusive.

The operation of the device is as follows:

The fabric is inserted under rollers 23 and 23 when it reaches line AA (Fig. 11).

It is then driven by said rollers and conforms with the cylindrical shape of. plate 25 between AA and BB. As rollers 23 and 23 are applied against the work plate by the pressure of support as, the fabric cannot slide with respect to said rollers. 7

When the fabric reaches generatrix YY' of said cylindrical portion of plate 25, it moves along the bevelled portions 2:, b of ridges 26, 26' which give to it, in the transverse direction, a sinuous profile the total length of which increases progressively, and therefore progressively increase its tension. Consequently, when the fabric reaches plane P of the thread drawing tool, it is stretched'to the maximum extent and is in the best condition for a perfect drawing of the threads. Said stretching of the fabric takes place without injuring it in the least since smooth wheels 24 and 24' do not oppose the necessary sliding movement of the fabric.

Owing to the fact that ridges 26 and 23' extend beyond plane PP, the fabric remains also perfectly well stretched after the drawing of the threads, which has a certain importance.

For if, as shown in Fig. 13, the fabric were no longer well stretched, the threads at right angles to the drawn threads would risk, by sagging, to pass through slot F (Fig. 11) through which the threaddrawing tool is adapted to pass, and they would accordingly be cut-off by cutter knife 28.

The shape of the smooth wheels or rollers and of the work plate might be different, provided that the combination of their profiles involves a progressive increase of the total length of the sinuous line along which the fabric is stretched in its portion comprised between the feeding rollers, so as to suitably increase the tension of said fabric.

In a general manner, while the foregoing has disclosed what is believed to be a preferred and efiicient embodiment of the invention, it should be Well understood that the'invention should not be limited thereto as there might be changes made in the arrangement disposition and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the invention as comprehended within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine for drawing the threads from fabrics, a fabric feeding and stretching device comprising in combination, a work plate having a cylindrical shallow groove at right angles to the direction of feed, two parallel rollers coaxially disposed with respect to said cylindrical groove and the peripheries of which are arranged to fit in said groove against the bottom thereof, said peripheries being made of a material upon which the fabric does not slide, and means for imparting a discontinuous feed motion to said rollers, whereby the fabric is tightlyheld between said cylindrical groove and said rollers and caused to move together with said rollers.

2. In a machine for drawing the threads from fabrics, a fabric feeding and stretching device comprising in combination, a work plate having a cylindrical shallow groove in its upper face at right angles to the direction of feed, two parallel rollers coaxially disposed with respect to said cylindrical groove and the peripheries of which are arranged to fit in said groove against the bottom thereof, said peripheries being made of indiarubber, means for imparting a discontinuous feed motion to said rollers, whereby the fabric is tightly held between said cylindrical groove and said rollers and caused to move together with said rollers, and means, interposed between said rollers, for causing the fabric to assume a sinuous shape in a direction at right angles to the direction of feed, whereby the tension thereof is increased.

3. In a machine for drawing the threads from fabrics, a fabric feeding and stretching device comprising in combination, a work plate having a cylindrical shallow groove at right angles to the direction of feed, two parallel rollers coaxially disposed with respect to said cylindrical groove and the peripheries of which are arranged to fit in said groove against the bottom thereof, said peripheries being made of a material upon which the fabric does not slide, means for imparting a discontinuous feed motion to said rollers, whereby the fabric is tightly held between said cylindrical groove and said rollers, and caused to move together with said rollers, two arcuate ridges in said grooveat right angles to the axis thereof and close to said rollers respectively, and two smooth rollers parallel with the first mentioned rollers and adapted to cooperate with said ridges for causing the fabric to assume a sinuous shape in a direction at right angles to the direction of feed, whereby the tension thereof is increased.

4. A fabric feeding and stretching device ac cording to claim 3 in which the smooth rollers are adapted to bear against the inner faces of said ridges respectively.

5. A fabric feeding and stretching device according to claim 3 in which the smooth rollers are adapted to bear against the inner faces of said ridges respectively, said device further comprising means for imparting to said smooth rollers the same discontinuous feed motion as to the first named rollers.

6. In a machine for drawing threads from fabrics, a fabric feeding and stretching device comprising in combination, a work plate having in its upper face a cylindrical shallow groove at right angles to the direction of feed, two parallel rollers having a diameter equal to that of said cylindrical portion of the Work plate, having their common axis parallel to the generatrices of said cylindrical portion, a support for said rollers, means for urging said support in a downward direction so as to press the peripheries of said rollers against said groove, and means for imparting a discontinuous feed motion to said rollers, the periphery of said rollers being made of a material which does not slide on the fabric, whereby the fabric is tightly held between said cylindrical groove and said rollers and caused to move together with said rollers.

7. A fabric feeding and stretching device according to claim 6 in which the means for imparting a discontinuous feed motion to said rollers comprise a main shaft, a secondary shaft, a lever pivotally mounted about the axis of said secondary shaft, a clutch for connecting said lever to said secondary shaft for one direction of movement of said lever, means operatively connected to said main shaft for imparting a rocking motion to said lever, and a plurality of gears for transmitting the movement of said secondary shaft to said rollers.

JACQUES OLLENDORFF. 

